User:DaniellePool/sandbox

Objective

I am currently enrolled in a Gender/Science class and am interested in learning more about biological determinism. The difference between sex and gender is a controversial topic of debate in the world of research studies. The standard model for the difference between sex/gender states that there is a clear-cut dichotomy between males & females, with no overlap. Because of this norm, we have a historically constructed viewpoint of “average”, meaning that society holds the idea that one must be either male or female, feminine or masculine. Anne-Fausto Sterling's article “Of Gender and Genitals” discusses how this standard model shapes doctors’ ideas about gender and what is socially acceptable. She claims that(according to the standard model) “Bodies in the "normal" range are culturally intelligible as males or females, but the rules for living as male or female are strict”(pg.75), meaning that we are culturally “trained” in believing that there is a sexual binary and anything outside of those confines is rejected. Sterling presents the idea of letting intersexuality become part of the norm and argues that society “will have, willy-nilly, chosen to change the rules of cultural intelligibility.”(pg.76).

My interest lies mainly in the overlap in the gender spectrum and would like to discover more about the binary that society has created that states that there are only 2 definite gender assignments. Anne-Fausto takes part in refuting the standard model. She references intersexuality and how it “blurred the distinction between male and female”(pg.72). Those who are intersex are often surgically “corrected” by doctors to be either male or female at a young age. Scientists never “questioned the assumption that there were only 2 sexes, because their goal in studying intersexuals was to find out more about “normal” development.”(pg.46). Sterling advocates that, instead of culturally shaping ideas about gender and creating a dimorphism, scientists should allow for intersexuality to become a part of the norm and “[move] from an area of sexual dimorphism to one of the variety beyond the number two.”(pg.77).

Lynda Birke’s critique “In Pursuit of Difference” also addresses the standard model, rejecting the idea of the sex dichotomy. Instead of a society with just 2 categories of gender, she argues “there is a clear overlap between populations. So, to state that a difference is not absolute is to say that there is some degree of overlap between 2 populations.”(pg.314). Her research goes on to show that physical “differences here are not absolute, and some are born with ambiguous genitals.”(pg.311), emphasizing that there is a wider spectrum that doesn’t just divide gender into 2 clear-cut categories and that “biology is not as clear-cut as that simple dichotomy would imply”(pg.310). Society has a limited perception of gender, and holds the belief system that one’s sexual identity is determined by their masculinity/femininity. However, Birke argues that the division is much more complex than just black and white. Some are born with the genitals of one particular sex, but hormonal and chromosomal differences may occur, causing one to be female on the outside, and male on the inside. Some females possess large amounts of male hormones(androgens), contributing to their more “masculine” traits. Occurrences like these are what arouse speculation regarding gender and the spectrum. Lynda Birke rejects societies establishment of the standard model and claims that a sex dichotomy does not accurately address the overlap between genders. She promotes the idea of questioning whether or not society should alter the norm and accept intersexuality in order to break the binary system.

The standard model creates a society of sex dimorphism and completely “ignores the overlap”(Sterling, pg.76) that is so obviously present. Lynda Birke and Anne-Fausto Sterling argue against the standard model and refute ideas of a sexual binary by presenting their research on intersexuality and claiming that the differences between gender are more ambiguous than a 2-category split. There is a broad range of reproductive anatomy that doesn't necessarily fit the "gender definition" of male or female. According to the Intersex Society of North America, "a person may be born with mosaic genetics", differing in their chromosomal configuration. The website is helpful in answering questions regarding anatomical variations of sex/gender and discusses the ways in which nature presents us with "sex anatomy spectrums". There is more to one's sexual assignments then a male/female division. Biologically and physically, there are apparent differences that point to one's intersexuality.

Human nature has a tendency to categorize one's sexual orientation based on their masculinity/femininity. This mindset stems mostly from our predisposed dispositions about sexual dimorphism. Ruth Bleier's research on brain structure proved that biologically, there is no evidence of gender-specific differences in the corpus callosum. In fact, Bleier promotes the idea of environmental influences shaping societies viewpoints on gender instead. This goes to say that both factors, social norms, and human instinct, play a role in one's gender assignment.

Contributions

• 11/20/13 Added the sub category "Gender Assignment" to the Biological determinism page
• 11/21/13 Added the sub category "Sex" to the dimorphism page
• 11/21/13 Added the sub category "Intersex" to the Biological determinism page
• 11/27/13 Added to the Intersex page under the subcategory of "Sexual Ambiguity"
• 11/27/13 Added to the Biological determinism page under the subcategory of "Social construction"

Peer Review

Well Danielle, I read over your "Intersex" contribution and I believe you could have expanded a lot more on this topic, noting that this topic was pretty well explored and much discussed in class. I have a slight problem with this statement, "hormonal and chromosomal differences may occur, causing one to be female on the outside, and male on the inside. Some females possess large amounts of male hormones (androgens), contributing to their more "masculine" traits." Now this statement, doesn't really showcase an unbiased point of view. I understand that we are focusing on majorly women in this class, but for Wikipedia, I think you should have kept the statement gender-neutral. Congrats on the fact that your posting is still standing, but I just think there is more you could have added. Take for example, maybe the history of intersex or maybe a reference of a personal account of an intersexual individual. Additionally, you could have added the movie that we watched in class about the intersex.